Christina M. Davitt, Ogden Murphy Wallace, PLLC
Many people are asking themselves how they can best support their community right now. The COVID-19 crisis has brought on intense stress and suffering to so many of our neighbors and friends. How can we help? While there are a number of immediate opportunities for volunteering your time or making donations, you might also think about how you can make a difference in the long-term.
As an elder law attorney, I often see clients who are struggling to decide whom to give their assets to when they pass away. Close family members are natural beneficiaries, but some clients have very few or even no family or close relatives that they can name in their Will. Even for those with family, I often get asked, “Is there anyone or anywhere you would recommend?”
Well, that’s when I sit back and ask them – have you considered a charitable gift? And then I let them think about that possibility for a few minutes. Usually, their next question is, “What do you mean by a charitable gift?” I tell them I mean that leaving even a small portion of their estate to charity. I ask them to seriously consider leaving up to 10%, which won’t usually take away much from the gifts they intend for their family members. And that 10% will mean a lot to charitable organizations and those they serve right here in the Wenatchee Valley.
We all know about the developmental tasks of toddlers and children, learning to tie their shoes, color within the lines and begin to assert their independence from their parents. But what about the developmental tasks of adulthood and older adulthood? One of the most important tasks of these ages is to identify ways in which you can leave a legacy. Perhaps it’s teaching your grandchildren to fish or your family’s favorite apple pie recipe, but what if part of your legacy was a gift that kept on giving to your entire community for generations to come?
You can leave that sort of powerful legacy when you participate in the Community Foundation of North Central Washington’s Give 10 program. Leaving 10% of your estate to CFNCW to steward for you, means that your legacy benefits not only your children and grandchildren, but everyone’s children and grandchildren both now and in the future. Imagine your gift of $10,000 going to help establish or support a college scholarship so that our community’s young people can avoid the crushing debt of student loans while they become more educated, so they can succeed and then give back to our community. Let’s leave them more than money – leave your children and grandchildren a legacy and a fine example of good work by participating in the Give 10 program. Contact your estate planning attorney or the Community Foundation today to leave your legacy.
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